Seau D'étoiles
by ScottiRed
Summary: Madeline Williams is diagnosed with leukemia at a young age. After being in remission for six years, a relapse turns her entire life upside down. PruCan, fem!Canada, FACE family. Rated M for language, and most likely sexy times and character death in later chapters, rating is subject to change.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own the things. Like Hetalia. Or anything I based this story off of which will be listed below. **

**Author's Note:** I had to read_ My Sister's Keeper _for school recently, and that, coupled with reading _The Fault In Our Stars_ on my own time gave me the idea of PruCan and disease. Then I watched _The Bucket List, _and, well, basically all of my favorite parts of those three things will be in this story. I hope it comes together as nicely as I think it will! I have up through the fourth chapter written thus far, so hopefully I'll have this entire story done in a short amount of time. This first chapter is more of a prologue than an actual chapter, but it has necessary information to the story, so; without further ado, I give you... this.

* * *

Arthur paced back and forth in the oncologist's office, waiting for the doctor to return with their results. His husband sat nervously biting his nails and watching their kids read comic books.

"Hey Maddie, you've read this one, right?! Superman is totally getting his ass kicked!" Alfred exclaimed, his feet swiftly kicking as they dangle from his chair.

"Alfred, what have your father and I told you about that language?" Francis gave him a sharp look.

Looking slightly ashamed, he muttered a quiet, "sorry, Papa." before turning back to his sister.

"Maddie! What's gonna happen?! Tell meee!"

"Alfred," she said, clearly annoyed at having her reading interrupted, "I haven't read that one. And you'll probably find out in like two pages anyway."

Alfred frowned at his little sister, and turned back to his book.

The doctor entered, and did not look Arthur or Francis in the eye as he sat down at his desk.

Arthur's nerves got the better of him, as he began to question the doctor. "Well? Are we going to get some answers or not? What the bloody hell is wrong with my daughter?! Why does she keep needing all these damn blood samples taken? She's fine, isn't she?!"

Francis turned to face Arthur, "Calm yourself for a moment, cher. Come sit with me, I am sure he is going to explain everything." He calmly said as he shot the doctor a pleading look. Arthur went to sit with them, and felt as though he were going to throw up.

Nothing could be wrong with his baby, could it? His beautiful baby girl was fine, wasn't she? She was healthy enough at her hockey game two weeks ago; that bruise from falling on the ice only stayed because she fell so hard, didn't it?

The doctor looked up at them for the first time to say, "Mr. Kirkland, Mr. Bonnefoy, I am afraid to tell you that your daughter has leukemia."

Francis grabbed Arthur's hand as both of their worlds come crashing down. Their daughter? Sweet, baby Maddie? At ten years old? Both men turned to face their children, still absorbed in their comic books, who probably hadn't heard or understood anything that just happened. Arthur noticed tears building in Francis's eyes, and, fighting back his own, gave his hand a not-so reassuring squeeze.

They were silent a few minutes, until Arthur hesitantly asked, "What can we do about it?"

The doctor then proceeded to outline their options. Luckily, they caught Madeline's cancer quickly enough that chemo and a bone marrow transplant would likely send her into remission. The type of leukemia she had; AML, had a very high cure rate. Her chances of survival, at this point at least, he said, were very good.

They learned that a donor could be found through a national registry; however someone related to her would likely yield better results with the transplant. Since the Kirkland-Bonneyfoy children are adopted, the only blood relative of hers was Alfred. It's a long shot, they are told, but in the end it is decided to have him tested to see if he is a match for his sister.

Several hours later, they were back in the same room, with Alfred complaining about how "that dumb old nurse just stuck me for no good reason!" Madeline rolling her eyes at her brother's antics, and their parents both nearly losing their minds with worry.

The doctor once again walked in, this time with a more promising look on his face.

"Gentlemen," he said, "you have incredible luck. Your son Alfred is a match to his sister."

Arthur let go of a breath he didn't know he was holding, and pulled Francis into his arms, resting his head against the taller man's chest. Francis hugged him back, and rested his chin on top of Arthur's head.

"We will get through this, cher," he muttered, quickly pressing a kiss to the top of his husband's head.

Alfred noticed this, and expressed his opinion with a loud,"EW! DAD! PAPA JUST KISSED YOU!", to which his sister replied, "Shut up, Alfred. It's like in movies. If it's true love they can kiss, okay?"

Despite the severity of their situation, Francis couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped him. _She's going to make it, _he thought happily. _  
_

-o-O-o-

They decided to explain everything to their children the next night over dinner.

"Alfred, Madeline, your father and I would like to talk to you." Arthur said, hoping he didn't sound too foreboding.

Alfred groaned, "I already told you, Ivan _made_ me fight him! He said Maddie couldn't play hockey cause she's a girl and-"

"Alfred," Francis interrupted," that is not what we wish to talk to you about; however I do wish to remind you again that fighting with Ivan is not the solution to your problems."

Alfred sighed and nodded his head. Madeline noticed her brother's frustration and to comfort him added, "Well, Al totally kicked his butt either way." Her brother smiled.

"Kids," Arthur said, clearly not wanting to have this conversation, "we wanted to talk about Maddie, mostly."

Maddie turned red, obviously thinking she was in trouble. Her father continued, "Madeline, dear, do you remember how we were at the hospital, getting your blood taken for a while this weekend?" She nodded.

"Well, the doctor has told us something rather...ah... Unusual. You see, the doctor says that you've got something called leukemia." He struggled to both explain this to his child and keep his composure, "what that means is that your blood is sick, and we need to make it all better."

Francis noticed his husband struggling to speak and decided that it was his turn to jump in.

"Do you both understand so far?" He received nods in answer. "Good. Now, here is the hard part, darlings. Madeline needs something called a bone marrow transplant to get better. Do you know what bone marrow is?"

Alfred nodded enthusiastically, "It's the stuff in your bones that gets radioactive and gives you superpowers!"

Maddie's face lit.

"Dad! Papa! Am I gonna get super powers?!"

Her brother was not happy. "No way, you loser! We agreed that I get them first 'cause I'm oldest!"

"Yeah well I got leukemia so I get them first!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Both of you, be quiet!" Arthur cut them off, "neither of you is getting super powers because that is not what bone marrow does! Bone marrow-"

"Yeah-huh it does, Dad! It was in Teen Titans!" Alfred argued.

"Alfred John Kirkland-Bonnefoy. Be quiet right this instant and stop interrupting, this is important!"

"Kay, fine. I was just trying to use science."

"Now, as I was saying, bone marrow is something in your bones that helps you make healthy blood, and Maddie needs it, because right now she can't do it on her own."

Maddie frowned at this.

"Someone will have to give her a little of theirs, and it will have to be someone who has special stuff in their body similar to hers, only healthy. Now this is where you come in, Alfred. Remember how the nurse took some of your blood as well, as a sample?"

"Yeah. I didn't like her. She was dumb."

"Alfred, you need to be a bit more kind to people, non?" Francis responded. Alfred ignored him, so he continued where Arthur left off, "Alfred, you have the right kind of bone marrow for Madeline. You can give a little to your sister to help her feel better, if you choose to. Your father and I don't want to force you into this, but we want you to think about it, at least, and if you don't have an answer now, you can tell us later what you've decided, okay?"

Alfred nodded.

"Do either of you have any questions?" Arthur asked.

Both of his children are silent moment, until Maddie asked, "Dad... Am I gonna die?"

Neither Arthur nor Francis could respond for a moment, thrown off guard. They knew very well that she could, but neither had expected their children to ask this particular question. Finally, Arthur answered, "No, no, I don't believe you will."

They finished the rest of their meal in silence.

-o-O-o-

Alfred lay in his bed, thinking. He had heard the word leukemia before. He knew he had. It was driving him nuts, and he finally climbed out of bed and walked over to his bookshelf. Amongst his comics, adventure stories, and fairy tales, was the dictionary his dad bought him, which he rarely used. He pulled it off the shelf, and flipped through it, before finding the page he needed.

"L... L-E... L-E-A... L-E-I... Aha! L-E-U! Leukemia!" He was very proud of himself for having found this word all on his own, as he usually needed to ask one of his parents for help. He scanned the definition, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. This said that leukemia is cancer in someone's blood... _But dad said Maddie wasn't gonna die, didn't he? But cancer kills people..._

For the first time, Alfred realized that maybe his father was lying to him. This was a rather difficult thing to wrap his eleven-year-old mind around. What kind of parent lies to their child? Angrily, he slammed the book shut and stormed down the hallway, towards his parents room. He barreled straight in to the room where his parents were sleeping and threw his dictionary straight onto the bed.

Unfortunately for Arthur, it landed directly in his lap, and he was awakened most painfully. Confused and in pain, he looked around to see what could have possibly happened, when he saw two things. The first was Alfred's dictionary on his lap, and the second was a very angry Alfred, arms crossed, glaring at him.

"Alfred dear, it's one in the morning, can't this wait?"

"You lied to me. You and Papa both lied to me. And Maddie."

Arthur's poor sleep addled mind was becoming more and more confused as the minutes drag on. What was going on with his son?

"Alfred what on earth are you talking about?"

"You both said that Maddie wasn't gonna die. And guess what? I looked up that thing you said she has, and guess what? The dictionary says it means cancer. Cancer kills people, dad."

Arthur blinked, and stared at his child. How was he to explain his lie from earlier in the evening? He was silent a moment before answering.

"Alfred... When Spider-Man is trying to save that train full of people in the movie, what does he say to the people?"

"He tells the people that they'll be fine, 'cause he's got 'em. But dad that doesn't-"

"And why does he do that?"

"'Cause he's the hero and he doesn't want 'em gettin' too scared. But what's that got to do with-"

"And does he know for sure that he can save them?"

"Well, no, but he's doing his best cause that's what heroes do. I still don't get what that has to do with anything though."

"You see, that's sort of what we were trying to do. We don't know if Maddie will be okay or not, but we didn't want to scare either of you, because we don't know what will happen. Do you understand now, Alfred?"

"Kinda, I guess. But you still coulda told us that leukemia means cancer or something."

"Yes, I suppose we could've. I'm sorry, son. We should've been more honest with both of you. I suppose we'll tell your sister in the morning."

"Dad no!"

"But you just said-"

"I know what I said! But Maddie doesn't have to know! Don't tell her!"

"Alfred this _does _have a good deal to do with your sister, don't you believe she has as much right to know as you?"

"I guess so. But still don't tell her 'cause she's too little to understand this stuff."

"She's only a year younger than-"

"Shhh. Dad, go back to sleep," he gently pushed his father back to a sleeping position, "she doesn't have to know 'cause I'm gonna give her my bone stuff and make her better. We'll be like Spider-Man, 'kay?" Alfred tucked his father in awkwardly, trying to appear mature. In reality he was making Arthur fight tears and laughter all at once.

Arthur, who was again slightly confused, replied with a quiet, "okay."

Alfred retrieved his dictionary and proudly marched back to his room, where he finally achieved sleep.

Arthur didn't sleep for the rest of the night, wondering what he could have possibly done to have been blessed with such wonderful children.

-o-O-o-

Months later, they were in the hospital again, their little Madeline hairless from her chemotherapy and waiting for both she and Alfred to go in for surgery.

Maddie didn't want her Daddy and Papa to worry, but she was scared. She asked them to bring her bear, Kuma, to the hospital for her. She told them she couldn't be here without it, but the truth is she was too scared to be there without it. What if a doctor accidentally killed her with all his sharp, pointy surgery stuff? Kuma protected her from monsters under her bed, so she knew he was brave enough to keep her safe in the hospital. But what if Alfred got hurt? She didn't want her brother to get hurt because of her... Maybe he should've taken Kuma, just in case. Anyway, she was the sick one, right? _The doctors can't hurt sick people. But they can hurt healthy people by accident._ She sat in a hospital bed, while the doctors prepared for her transplant surgery.

"Papa..." She said quietly. Her papa looked up from the pamphlet the doctor gave him.

"Oui, cher?"

"Can... Can you take Kuma to Alfred for me?"

He was slightly puzzled by his daughter's request. "Of course, but I thought you said you need him, didn't you?"

"Oui, Papa, but then I remembered that doctors can't hurt sick people. But they could hurt a healthy person by accident, so Kuma needs to protect Alfie instead of me."

Francis knew that no, his tears weren't going to spill over this time, he had cried too much in the past few weeks, and he was not going to let his daughter see him cry._ Ces larmes veulent vraiment venir, n'est-ce pas?_ He stood, walked over to his little girl and hugged her tightly.

"Madeline, I am so proud of you. Je t'aime. Of course I will take your bear to Alfred."

Maddie hugged her papa back.

"Je t'aime too, Papa. Where's Daddy and Alfie?"

"They are in another room getting ready, Alfred cannot leave, but Daddy can. Would you like me to get Daddy for you?"

Maddie shook her head. "No, cause Alfie needs Daddy to be there with him. But when we go in, tell Daddy I love him, okay?"

Her papa nodded, and wondered how in the world he was ever blessed with such magnificent children.

* * *

cheesy ending is cheesy. But yes. Prologue done. More drama/pairings in upcoming chapters. I'm sad to say that this is the most we will see of Alfred for a couple chapters. Additionally, all of my translations come from either Google translate or my language textbook, so feel free to correct them. Most of the translations I use are just pet names or "I love you" though so unless there's something other than that mentioned, I won't be including translations at the end of chapters. thanks for reading and please feel free to review/favorite/follow as you do so please!

-Scotti


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: **yeah... this chapter is a bit long but it's also cute. There is pda, and I don't know I just really like Gilbert's humor okay? And this chapter also helped me establish (in my mind at least) the kind of relationship both Gil and Maddie and Arthur and Francis are going to have (both with each other and in relation to their kids) Hopefully you people like it :)

**Disclaimer:** I don't own stuff I just wish I did.

* * *

"Uh, hi, everybody. I'm Maddie Kirkland-Bonnefoy, and this is my life in poster-form."

Madeline stood in front of her eleventh grade health class with her "who am I?" poster project being held by her boyfriend. This entire project was her health teacher's dumb way of making everyone boil down their entire life into an approximately five minute presentation. What this had to do with health of any kind is beyond her.

"Well, ah, this here is my family... That's my brother, Alfred, and my Daddy and my Papa... They're cool, but also really weird... Uh... That's the logo for my favorite hockey team, cause I'm a hockey fan, and um-"

"Pssst. Maddie!" Gilbert whispered from behind her poster,"you didn't talk about your boyfriend yet. Talk about me."

"Gil, I'm getting to that, calm down," she hissed, hoping this wouldn't lead to her losing points. "And I absolutely love Disney movies, I couldn't tell you why if I tried to-"

"Also she loves me, her boyfriend, who is awesome and should be in this lame presentation way more." Gil poked his head out from behind her poster.

Maddie face-palmed. Why. Why did she let him hold her poster? Oh, right. Because nobody else in that class really talked to her, except for Lars, who was missing that day, and Feli, who was asleep.

"Yes, Gil, I do love you, but there are times such as now when I wonder why."

Gilbert chuckled and quickly pecked her cheek, causing her to blush in what he thought was an adorable way. However, Madeline didn't think it was adorable at all, and angrily whispered that he needed to shut up right this second or so help her he would never have pancakes again.

Needless to say, he did not interrupt the rest of her presentation. She explained being adopted, dating Gil, and how she'd had cancer a few years ago, but it was now gone as far as she knew, because of her brother. When it was over she walked to the back of the room to hand in her project and take her seat.

Gil sat down next to her, scribbled something on a sheet of paper, and passed it to her as the next person went up to do their presentation. She briefly considered not reading it, but then figured that if it wasn't important, or if it was too lewd, he wouldn't have risked having it taken by their teacher, and opened it.

_ love you._

_really? That is what's so important? Work on your PDA timing, Gil._

_ Do you not love me, Madeline? Are you leaving me? Is there someone else? I bet it's Ivan's sister, isn't it? The one with the huge rack? I knew I couldn't compete with that!_

_ you idiot, I'm not gay! And of course I love you. But don't do the whole PDA thing... It's embarrassing._

_ so you're ashamed of our love, then, Miss Kirkland-Bonnefoy?_

_ no! Gil! Stop it! I'm not embarrassed by you I'm embarrassed by doing something that's private in a public place, okay?_

_ is that why you don't use mall bathrooms?_

At this she simply laid her head on her desk and didn't respond. Why did she have to fall head over heels for the weirdest guy ever? Only Gilbert Beilschmidt would equate kissing in public to using mall facilities. She felt something poke her arm and looked up to see Gil handing her another sheet of paper.

_you free tonight?_

So that was what he'd wanted this whole time.

_ probs football game to watch Al, why?_

_ nooooooo skip._

_ I haven't seen him play all season. I told him I'd be there._

_ :( no._

_ you can come too if you want._

_ but tonio's having a party. Come to that instead!_

_ what time?_

_ 9-whenever people are too drunk to stay_

She rolled her eyes. She didn't much care for big parties. She liked the excuse to drink, but didn't generally enjoy crowds, or super loud music.

_sounds appealing. Come with me to the game, then party. Maybe I'll even make breakfast ;)_

Oh, she was good. She knew where his weaknesses were.

_ Sure daddy will let you stay out overnight? ;)_

_ no, but Papa most likely will. :P_

_ kay. Tonight we dine in hell!_

When she saw this accompanied by his crude drawing of a gladiator, she had to stifle a giggle. As weird as her boyfriend was, he knew how to win an argument. And make her laugh, which was generally how he would win said arguments.

-o-O-o-

After spending what seemed like hours deciding on her clothing, hair, and makeup, Maddie felt confident in her appearance. She wore simple red halter top, which was fine because the weather was rather warm for September, and even if not, she could take Gil's jacket. This accompanied by her dark wash skinny jeans, white beret, and black converse made her feel like a million bucks.

Quietly, Maddie went downstairs to speak to her papa. He generally didn't care what she did, as long as it wasn't dangerous and he knew where she was and what time she'd be back. Arthur tried to be a bit more controlling, which is why she didn't go to him when she wanted permission to do something.

"Papa, I'm going to a party with Gil tonight after the football game."

Francis looked up from the book he was reading.

"Alright, cher. Do you need anything? Money? A jacket?" Then with a sly smile he added, "Or condoms, perhaps?"

Madeline's face turned bright pink.

"Then again, maybe not. I wouldn't want your dear father to kill the poor boy; he gets angry enough just by you bringing him here."

Maddie blushed even harder. Well… she and Gil had talked about it of course, but actually doing it… She had said she wasn't ready, and he was okay with that. At least, he'd said he was. Her papa knew this, or at the very least that no, she had not slept with him as of yet. He simply delighted in embarrassing her as much as physically possible.

He told her to be back by two this morning, to be careful, to have fun, and before she knew it Gil was there to drive her to the game.

The football game was rather uneventful. Their team won, courtesy of her brother, as per usual. She was pretty bored through most of it, but at half time when the team left the field, her brother saw her and looked so excited she didn't even mind being bored. She knew it meant a lot to him when she and her parents would come to his games. They used to go to every game, every practice, even. The entire family knew football was important to him, and supported him through every season, but he understood that none of them were much interested in it. Once he'd reached high school, he had told his fathers and sister that they didn't have to show up to every game if they didn't want to, and with no hard feelings, they had agreed to come to the big games, like homecoming. For the rest of the season, it was a rare treat for him to see their faces in the crowded stadium.

After their school's victory, they drove to Antonio's place, where the party was already in full swing despite having started less than an hour ago. They danced, drank a bit, and eventually ended up falling asleep in the bathtub of an upstairs bathroom. Until her phone buzzed and woke them up, that is. Maddie reached into her pocket to silence the device, before remembering that it was an alarm she had set herself to remind her to go home. She shook Gilbert awake, and when he opened his bleary eyes gave him a quick peck on the cheek, then climbed out of the bathtub.

"Hey, Birdie, what's that on your shoulder?"

She turned to look at her shoulder to see two bruises forming under the skin.

"Eh, I probably just fell asleep on it weird. It's fine." She said, disregarding the injuries.

Gil hopped out of the tub after her, and pulled her close to him before planting an obnoxiously loud kiss to her shoulder.

"There, now they _have_ to get better! Oh! And are you making me breakfast?" he inquired with what she recognized as his "puppy dog" look.

She checked the time on her cell phone. One thirty am. Well, Papa said to be home by two, which, if they left now, she would be.

"Hm… Take me home, and when we get there I'll make you some pancakes, kay?"

Gil fist pumped the hair with a "Fuck yeah!" then grabbed her hand and dragged her downstairs to his car.

-o-O-o-

Upon their arrival at Madeline's house, she dragged Gilbert into her kitchen and told him to be quiet. As she mixed pancake stuff into a bowl, he came to sit on the counter top near where she was working to filch some chocolate chips.

"Gil! You can't eat those right now, I need them for the pancakes!"

"Maddie, Maddie Maddie…" he said, shaking his head, "What you are failing to understand is that I am awesome, and therefore I am the god of chocolate chips, and can eat however many I want. That's how this works."

"No it isn't. And when they're all gone and there aren't any for me to put in your pancakes, you are going to cry and I am going to laugh."

They continued to bicker meaninglessly as she poured the batter into a frying pan and made them both a two-am breakfast.

"Gil, can you get me some plates?" she asked, as the pancakes slowly finished cooking.

"Nope. You are the pancake lord, and therefore have to do everything in relation to the creation of pancakes. I don't make the rules, the universe just works that way. Awesome, right?"

Maddie rolled her eyes, "They're in the cabinet right behind where you're sitting. I can't get to them, you have to turn around for three seconds and do it yourself."

At this, Gilbert leaned forward enough for her to be able to reach over him and get things out of the cabinet behind him. His girlfriend sighed, and walked over to retrieve the dishes she required. After she had retrieved the plates she needed and turned around, Gil thought it'd be humorous to pinch her rear, and without thinking twice, did so. Unfortunately, he did not anticipate that this would cause her to jump, squeal, and drop the plates, making them shatter on the floor.

-o-O-o-

Arthur snuggled into Francis's side.

"Well, we haven't done that in a while, eh?" he said sleepily.

"Perhaps you are getting too old, ma douce," Francis chuckled, and wrapped his arms around the smaller man.

"I'm barely older than you, Frog!"

Francis laughed out loud at this. Were they really that old? Their children were both less than two years from graduating high school. How had time gone by so quickly?

"It's because we're parents, I think. Time goes differently when you've got children." Arthur had just answered his thoughts. Had he been wondering aloud? Probably. He tended to do that when he was tired.

"And another thing, I wanted to talk to you about Madeline and that boy she's been seeing, Francis. He's nothing but trouble, and I don't appreciate you allowing her to stay out with him at all hours!," Arthur scolded.

"Arthur, bien adore, what is so wrong with our little girl pursuing love?" Francis didn't see what was wrong with allowing his daughter to date. Lord knew she was better about it than he had been at her age.

"What's so wrong with it is that she's our little girl, you bloody fool!" Arthur fumed. He nearly got out of bed in favor of the couch at this point, but this bloody frog was surprisingly quite excellent at cuddling and he had no intention of leaving the comfort of his arms for their lumpy old couch. Not that he would be telling Francis that, of course.

"Oui, she is. She is also a very smart girl, and I trust her not to make too many stupid mistakes. I could see worrying about her brother, bless him, he is an idiot. However, I do not think we need to worry about our Madeline. Let her discover the wonders of amour on her own, Arthur."

Arthur rolled his eyes, "I do trust her. It's that idiot she's dating that I don't trust. I'm telling you, he's nothing but trouble!"

Francis chuckled, "Isn't that what your parents said about me?"

"Yes they did," Arthur said, "and they were absolutely right."

His husband laughed again, "Cher, you are worrying far too much. Don't you remember being young and in love?"

Arthur scowled, "Yes, I do, and if I remember correctly you broke my heart no less than three times. I don't know what on earth possessed me to give you another chance." Francis frowned and kissed the tip of Arthur's nose.

"You do know. Whether you like to say it or not, I know that it was because you love me."

Arthur sighed and quickly kissed him back, "I suppose you're right. I do love you."

Just then, a crash and a scream came from downstairs. Both men bolted out of bed, fearing the worst. Arthur grabbed his robe as he hurried towards the ruckus, just a few steps behind his husband who had apparently forgotten that he was still undressed due to their earlier activities.

They reached the kitchen in time to see Gilbert on the floor laughing, with tears streaming from his eyes, and their daughter angrily sweeping up the broken plates.

"It isn't funny, Gilbert!" she scolded.

Of course she received no response, as her boyfriend was currently having trouble breathing through his laughter.

"Would either of you care to explain what the bloody hell is going on here?" Arthur demanded. Gilbert tried to sober himself, a few unfortunate chuckles escaping here and there.

Madeline looked up, her cheeks going red, and immediately looked back to the floor.

"Ah… Papa… you may want to um… pants…"

Francis looked down at himself, remembering that he was not wearing any pants. His lack of attire caught Gilbert's attention, and immediately he was back to laughing himself silly.

"Don't do anything stupid, Arthur," he gave Arthur a hard look before leaving the room to make himself more presentable. Arthur rolled his eyes and looked back to his daughter and her boyfriend.

"Gilbert, get out of my house."

"But Dad-"

"Madeline. Show your friend to the door."

Grumbling, she helped Gilbert off the floor and led him to the front door, as she had been instructed.

"Can I come back later for breakfast?" Gilbert asked with a wink.

Sighing, she gave him a quick peck on the lips, and pushed him outside.

"Maybe. I'll text you when I wake up."

"I will wait for that message. I fuckin need me some Maddie pancakes."

She laughed, "Okay, Gilbert. Good night."

"Night, babe!" As he walked to his car, he looked back to see her close the door and hurry inside. _Damn. Hope she's not in any trouble._

Heading back to the kitchen, she mentally prepared herself for the verbal onslaught she knew would most likely be coming from _both _of her fathers. After giving herself what felt like ages of preparation-although still never enough, she walked into the kitchen to find something she was not entirely prepared for. Her fathers were eating her pancakes. She couldn't have been gone that long, could she?

As she entered, both men looked up from their plates, and looked straight back down. Thinking she had gotten lucky and was in the clear, she tried to hurry out of the room, before Arthur stopped her.

"Excuse me, Madeline, but you're not exactly off the hook here. Come sit down, your papa and I would like to speak with you."

Madeline turned around and slumped into a seat at the table. She looked down at her hands, which were suddenly very interesting. Was that a hangnail? Ew.

"Madeline, have you got anything to say for yourself, or your actions?" Arthur asked between bites of his pancakes.

"Um…. I love you very much Daddy?" She tried to imitate her brother's "I-know-I-screwed-up-but-I'm-really-cute-so-you-have-to-let-me-off-easy" grin. It worked for Alfred, right?

Francis struggled to hold back a chuckle, "Madeline, I think that what your father wants to know why Gilbert was in our kitchen at two in the morning making a mess, oui?"

"Oh…" she said quietly. What was she supposed to say? 'Yeah Papa, I know you said to be home by two which I was, but I also brought my boyfriend whom, as has been previously established, isn't welcome here because Dad wants to rip his nuts off and shove them down his throat' didn't sound like something either of her parents was in the mood to hear. So, she stayed silent, as per usual. Her parents lectured her on the importance of "giving them proper notice before bringing guests", aka, "telling us before someone else enters the house so we don't run downstairs naked", as well as berating her for bringing her boyfriend home in the middle of the night. Even after she'd explained that she was only making him breakfast, and that they hadn't planned to do anything _other_ than have pancakes, Arthur was still clearly not pleased with her behavior. Francis was a little more understanding, and kept Arthur from grounding her on the premise that she had never done anything like this before, and, knowing Madeline, wouldn't do it again. Finally, they all made to go upstairs and go to bed, when Arthur noticed something.

"Madeline, what have you done to your shoulder?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note (please read, this one's important): **I added some things in to the previous chapter, and if you haven't yet seen the changes you may want to go back. I just added part of what was _supposed _to be this chapter into the last one because I decided it made more sense that way. So you won't have to re-read the whole thing, you just gotta go read the part that I added in at the end. That being said, I will try not to do that again because I realize that it's kind of a dick move to do stuff like that. But yay! New chapter, in which you will see Ludwig and Gilbert arguing because siblings. So, have fun with this chapter, it's kind of a yes, I think anyway. Also, I am having the issue of not being able to tab at the beginning of new paragraphs with this dumb thing because I use copyxpaste upload so I'm sorry if that bothers you, but I'm keeping the whole story in one file so file uploading would be stupid for me to do.

**Disclaimer: I don't own shit, yo.**

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It had been a week. The mysterious bruises hadn't healed, but they had grown in size; as well as a few more which had sprung up. Madeline's parents had become worried enough to take her in to the hospital. And so, Madeline Kirkland-Bonnefoy spend most of her Saturday in the hospital being poked, prodded, and otherwise irritated by hospital staff.

They had been in the hospital for nearly twelve hours. After tests, scans, questions, doctors, nurses, and more medical _everything_ than she could possibly stand, Madeline and her family were finally free to go. They were sent off with less than pleasant news, and none of them much felt like speaking on their way home. Upon their arrival, everyone retired to their own respective rooms to mull over what had happened.

Personally, Madeline had no idea what to do with the information she had been given, and had opted to sleep for the time being. Unfortunately, sleep would not come to her.

_What am I gonna tell Gil? _How was she going to tell him that she was, once again, on the brink of death? That she was being given a year and a half, two years, tops, before she kicked the bucket? What about high school? What about… everything?

She had too many questions and not enough answers. The only things she knew for certain were that she had to tell her boyfriend, and that she couldn't sleep. She may as well tell him now, right? Checking the clock, she saw that it was only nine pm. _He won't be asleep yet. _

Madeline slowly made her way to her parent's room where she could hear them arguing.

"Arthur we need to at least ask-"

"She's not an adult, you bloody wanker! Stop treating her like one! She's our child and I'll be damned if-"

"Maybe I want her to make her own decisions so that when she _is-_"

Madeline knocked on the door lightly. Surprisingly, they stopped bickering and her papa answered the door.

"Oui, Madeline?" He looked tired. She couldn't remember ever seeing him like this before, and suddenly, he looked like someone who was very much in need of comforting. His usually well-kept shoulder length hair hung in messy knots, and she could see circles forming under his eyes. She stepped forward and hugged him tightly, for a good long while. Arthur stood a few feet away, wanting so desperately to cling to his little girl and never let her go, but at the same time not wanting to interfere because… Because this was Francis's turn to hold her.

He remembered when they had first adopted Madeline and her brother. Alfred was nearly two, and was already running around wreaking havoc wherever his tiny feet took him. Madeline, though, was still barely crawling, and was smart enough to figure out that if she wanted to get somewhere quickly, a grown-up would need to walk her there. So she tried her hardest to be carried whenever it was convenient. Sometimes he and Francis would argue over whose turn it was to hold her, bur in the end Francis usually won. She was captivated by his long hair and consistently scratchy face. He'd thought it was lovely, watching her squish his husband's face between her tiny, chubby hands, her little head trying to figure out how on earth a _face_, of all things, could be _scratchy. _Arthur found it beautiful, but it also tinged him with guilt. His heart broke a little each time she chose Francis over him. And that is what it was doing just then.

"Daddy… Papa…" Madeline's whisper brought him out of his reverie.

They both looked at her, waiting for her to finish.

"I…I need to go see Gil. Is… Is that okay…?" She looked at both of them uncertainly.

Oh how Arthur wanted to tell her no. In that moment she was once again the chubby infant captivated by long hair and facial hair. He thought, _But you're a baby. You can't go over to a boy's house… You're my baby!_

"Of course you-" he began.

"Can go, cher." Francis intererupted. "Do you need one of use to drive you, or would you like to take the car?"

"Um… I don't know when I'll be back. I'd rather take the car, if that's okay…" she said quietly. Her papa nodded, and she walked downstairs and out the door, to tell the love of her short life the news which had just turned everything on its head.

"Why did you tell her yes, you bloody moron?" Arthur was fuming.

"Amoureux, if you had received news like hers, who would you go to first?"

Arthur didn't answer, because they both knew the answer. _I'd go to you, you stupid bloody frog, and you know it, too. _He could feel tears starting to burn his eyes and looked away.

"Arthur," Francis wrapped his arms around his love, stroking his hair and trying to calm him. "We will be fine. Last time she was fine, no?"

Arthur didn't answer. He simply buried his face in the crook of the taller man's neck and closed his eyes. He could always hope, couldn't he?

-o-O-o-

Gilbert was digging through the very large cardboard box under his brother's bed. He was hoping to find something suitable for his own needs, but dear god! Why were all of these so _gay?_ He groaned in exasperation, wanting to give up, but not willing to quite yet. His brother _had _to have _something_. He'd only recently come out, so it stood to reason that he'd have something with slim, busty blondes or flexible Asian beauties in it, right? It had been over eight months since Gil had gotten any, and it was killing him. However, all of his brother's relationship advice books (which he hadn't been reading, because he was far too awesome to need relationship advice) had told him that it was important for someone not to pressure their partner into unwanted physical activities. And so, here he was.

There was a knock at the front door, and Ludwig, having been in the living room with his boyfriend answered it.

"Oh, hi, um…" he awkwardly greeted. He'd met her on more than one occasion, but he was terrible with names. Plus, with all of the girls Gilbert had dated before, he'd never had time to learn anyone's name before they disappeared again.

"Madeline," she supplied.

"Sorry, Madeline, right. I'll remember this time. Um, come in, please. Are you looking for Gilbert? I think he's in his room." Ludwig padded back to the couch where Feliciano, of course, had fallen asleep. Madeline didn't move.

"Uh… Ludwig… Do you think you could maybe show me where his room is?" she asked politely.

"Oh, right! Of course." He got back up again, and led her up the stairs, down the hall-and stopped at a half open door, from which they heard Gilbert's voice.

"Damnit Lud why the fuck are you so fucking gay? Can't have one decent pair of tits in this entire damn-"

Ludwig pushed open the door.

"Gilbert. Get the hell out of my room." He tried to stay calm. Really, he did. But when he saw his brother going through his porn stash, and then having the audacity to flip him the bird when caught, well that was enough to make anyone go insane.

The two brothers were now engaged in some form of physical aggression, and Madeline had never been more confused. Were brothers supposed to fight like this? Should she do something? She tried to clear her throat loudly enough to get their attention, but to no avail.

"Gil-" she tried to get his attention, but was cut off when they began arguing.

"You stupid fuck! Get off me and go fuck your little boy to-"

"Dummkopf! Stay out of my room!"

"Then don't take all the porn, bitchcunt!"

"Gilbert I paid for it-"

"Yeah with the fake ID I fucking gave you-"

"I paid for that too!"

"You still suck dick, you-"

"Gil!" this time, she was much louder than normal, and was actually heard. Gilbert looked up from the punch as he was about to throw.

"Maddie!" a slightly sheepish grin graced his features. _If I weren't so awesome, this'd be totally embarrassing,_ he thought to himself. 

"Hi, Gil." She said. He got off of the floor and sauntered over to her, kissing her hello.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of having such an awesome lady visit me this evening?" he asked with a wink.

"Uh," she looked at the floor. She really hadn't thought this through at all. Gilbert laughed and placed an arm around her waist.

"Know what? Doesn't matter. Let's go chill out in my room. Lud's got his little boy toy over and he'll get all pissy if we go hang around downstairs." Ludwig sent Gilbert a death glare as he led his girlfriend to his room.

"Birdie, you wanna watch a movie or something? I've got a couple up here that you might like, but if you're not into any of these we can go on Netflix or something." Gilbert was not used to having someone in his room for things that were not considered matters of the flesh. Even when his friends came over, they generally stayed downstairs to play xbox or raid the kitchen. He brought Madeline into his room and flopped on the bed, and motioned for her to have a seat beside him. He hoped it didn't seem too presumptuous a move.

"Actually, Gil, I wanted to talk to you about something." She said quietly, as she sat down.

_Shit shit shit, she's gonna dump me or something. But, I'm too awesome to get dumped, right?_ His thoughts started to race nervously.

_Deep breaths, Maddie. You can do this. Don't chicken out. _

Then, of course, she found herself saying, "Actually, nevermind, it's no big deal." She mentally smacked herself. She was dying. And couldn't even tell her boyfriend.

"You sure? You looked like something was bothering y-"

Madeline cut him off with a short kiss. "Yes, I'm sure. I'm fine," she reassured.

Gil was confused. This wasn't like Maddie. But if she had been angry with him, she wouldn't have kissed him, right? Since Maddie was clearly not going to say anything more about what had been bothering her, the two of them chose a movie and cuddled up to watch.

It was a great movie, but Madeline had to hide how closely to home it hit her. _These old guys are so cool about dying. How are they acting like they don't even care?_ She tried, and failed, to hold back her tears. Gilbert noticed, and held her more closely.

"Maddie, you don't have to cry, it's just a movie." He said with a laugh, "Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson are still alive, don't worry."

Without thinking, she replied "Gil, you idiot, that's not why I'm crying."

Gilbert sat up, and paused the film, "Birdie, you've been acting weird since you got here. What's up? Are you gonna break up with me or something? Did your dads say you're not allowed to see me anymore? Is this because of what happened last weekend?"

Madeline sat up as well, wiping her eyes.

"No, it's nothing like that. It's me, actually." She took a shuddering breath, "remember how I told you that when I was little, I had cancer?"

Her boyfriend nodded, worry beginning to cloud his crimson eyes.

"We um… went to the hospital today," her voice began to crack, "and they said I'm relapsing. I'm- I'm gonna die."

Gilbert shook his head in disbelief, "But they can make it go away, right? Last time you had it they got rid of it no problem, right?"

She shook her head, "Last time we caught it early enough to get rid of it. This time… I was relapsing before we even noticed anything was wrong. Right now, they don't really know how long I have…" she couldn't finish her sentence, and finally allowed herself the privilege of crying. Her boyfriend didn't know how to respond, and instead pulled her into his arms as she cried. He allowed her to cry herself to sleep, but even after she was unconscious refused to let his own tears fall.


End file.
